Page 5 of Burn of Obsidian
“Stupid fucking faerie,” he sneered, crowding close enough she was forced against the harsh brick wall or risk touching him. “Give me the fertility statue. Now.”
“Take it.” She shoved it between them. “It’s yours, arsehole.”
His eyes dipped, a strange hunger passing across his features, and in that same second, she raised a knee. His breath exhaled in a single pained puff, eyes bulging.
Thea shoved herself to the side and out of Finnick’s way, but she was a second too slow. The knife sliced her along her arm, the sting piercing before quickly changing into a dull ache.
“Come back, you bitch,” he hissed, one hand brandishing the now red blade and the other holding his balls.
Thea got out of there, not daring to look back as his curses disappeared the further she ran. She didn’t stop until she’d entered the underground, quickly tapping her phone and jumping onto the first train available. She got off on the next station, changing trains three times before she finally felt comfortable enough to head home.
Groaning, she began climbing the three floors to her flat. She seriously needed to write another strongly worded letter to her landlord. It should be illegal forcing tenants to take the stairs – inhumane.
Pausing by her front door, she noticed the single sunflower placed on her welcome mat. It was the second one that week, not counting all the others that had been left over the past few months. There was never any note, always just a single flower. Picking it up on the way past, she took it inside.
Reaper, her cat, looked up groggily from his position on the sofa. He gave her a slow blink before settling his head back onto his fluffy white paws.
“Sorry, am I disrupting you?” she asked, closing the door behind her.
Reaper simply swished his tail, his eyes remaining closed.
“What? No show of concern?” Thea lifted her arm. “You can be so rude sometimes, Reap.”
She didn’t even care about the cut. It was the fact one of her favourite jumpers was ruined that pissed her off. Scrunching her face, she carefully pulled it off and tossed it into the kitchen. It had soaked up most of the blood, so thankfully she hadn’t left some gory blood spatters along the tube trains.
With a shake of her head, Thea walked over to her shelf, placing the statue and flower along with all the other random stuff she’d collected over the years. Some bits she’d kept because they were shiny, like crystals, while others were kept because the buyers fell through.
She was careful what she picked to display, keeping anything exceedingly valuable, or high risk hidden until she could move them on. She didn't think there would be too much of a market for a phallic shaped fertility statue. But then again, it did look amusing next to her romance books.
There was a knock, quiet but expected.
Thea opened the door to find her sister glaring. “Do you know what time it is?” she asked, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “I have school tomorrow.”
“Missed you too, kid.” Thea grinned, pulling Molly into a quick hug. “What excuse did you give mum?”
“That I was staying over Bianca’s.” Molly shoved her back with a scowl. “Which wasn’t a lie. I’m heading there after this.”
“Mum lets you stay over at your girlfriend’s house?” Thea couldn’t believe it. “I was never able to stay over my boyfriends at your age.” In fact, she was pretty sure even at twenty-five she still wouldn’t be allowed to have a boy stay over her parents’ house.
“I have a much less chance of becoming pregnant.” Molly smirked, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear. “Now, sit down while I get some water. You’re dripping on the floor.”
Thea frowned, looking down to the small blood spatter currently staining her carpet. “Fuck.”
Reaching for a tissue, she dabbed up as much as she could before she followed her little sister’s command. Reaper grumbled in his sleep as she sat beside him on the sofa, the protest turning into a soft purr when Thea stroked through his soft grey fur.
“Can you believe this, Reap?” she asked the cat. “Favouritism. If I as much as looked at a boy, mum threatened me with a chastity belt.”
Reaper squinted at her, yellow eyes unamused.
“So, are you going to get a real job anytime soon?” Molly asked as she gently turned Thea’s arm over, grimacing at the cut. Molly may only be seventeen, but she’d wanted to be a doctor for as long as Thea could remember.
“This is a real job.” Thea hissed when Molly began to clean up the blood. “I’m an entrepreneur.”
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Her sister looked up for the briefest second before returning her attention to the arm. “This is what, the second time this month a job’s gone sour?”
Thea didn’t answer, because in reality it was closer to five. She just hadn’t needed to call her kid sister.
Molly’s light brown eyes darkened with worry. “You used to only do small jobs, but recently you’ve taken some pretty big risks.”